The first batch of quotes from Kevin Keegan’s new book are fascinating and come at an appropriate time on Tyneside – with battle lines being drawn between fans and Mike Ashley.

Keegan’s book – My Life in Football – is out next week but the Times are running serialisations of it today and on Monday. Keegan will also appear at a sell-out event at the Sage on October 2 to talk about Newcastle and the book.

Here Football Editor Mark Douglas picks out seven key revelations from the book so far.

1. The book is going to be a must-read

We already knew from the first few glimpses that the book was going to dominate the discussion in the early autumn on Tyneside and the first official passages confirm this is going to be a must-read for any Newcastle fan.

It’s not all negative – his first spell is covered in detail, along with his joy at pulling on a black and white shirt – but it’s understandable that his second spell as manager has swiped the headlines because, ten years on, Ashley is still involved at Newcastle and still courting controversy.

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And Keegan is scathing of Ashley, writing: “They have made a toy out of Newcastle United and, as much as it pains me to say it, I have no desire to be associated with the place for as long as that continues. I will gladly return when they have gone, and I am already looking forward to the day when Newcastle is free of the man who has lurched from one bad decision to another, run an empire of self-harm and handed money and power to people who deserved neither.”

3. Kevin Keegan says his legal battle with Mike Ashley means he never wants to be involved in football again

Keegan writes of the pain it caused him to take the club through the courts for a tribunal hearing. “Though I won my case against Newcastle for constructive dismissal, you can take my word that it wasn’t a pleasant experience being engaged in a legal battle against a man of such power and immense wealth,” he writes.

“That it was Newcastle at the centre of this litigation made it an even more harrowing experience. Indeed, the whole thing was so hideous it convinced me I never wanted to work in football again.”

Keegan makes it clear he was unimpressed with Jimenez’s credentials and says that he was the direct reason why Luca Modric opted for Spurs instead of Newcastle.

He was halfway through a sales pitch to his agent – in which he said United’s supporters would make Modric feel welcome on Tyneside – when the vice-president (player recruitment) – came in. “Jimenez piped up. “Can I come in here?” he said. “I don’t think Luka is good enough for the Premier League. He’s too lightweight. He’s decent, but he’s not good enough.”

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The internal politics of United are laid bare in the book. And we get a glimpse of it here – he says that Dennis Wise, a former player of Keegan’s, opted to stick close to Ashley’s appointees and made him feel as if he was fighting a series of running battles.

5. Keegan feels he’s not welcome – which is scandalous

Keegan claims that he is “persona non grata” at Newcastle, even – amusingly – recounting an anecdote about sneaking into the club for a leaving do.

It is all a bit farcical but the wider point here is that Keegan, who saved the club as a player and then as a manager, is at odds with a club where the public love him. Never mind feeling unloved, he should have a statue for all he’s done for Newcastle.